Ivan Braginski: Light my Heart
by Russia-kolkhoz
Summary: A cold-blooded killer or a sweet, innocent boy who likes sunflowers? Ivan Braginski's Russia's story is a bittersweet one. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry. If you cannot stand character deaths, don't read. Stay tuned for updates!Reviews pls
1. Chapter 1

Ivan Braginski: Light my Heart

The young boy shivered in the frozen tundra, his breath fanning out before him in visible wisps. His hands were severely frostbitten as he had no gloves. _What a piteous state I'm in _was the thought that came to his mind. He had the yoke of the Tatars on him. He knew life was hard now, but he also knew somehow that someday, he was going to be a big nation. So for now, he would struggle to live on and wait for the day to fulfill his dream that had not yet been realized.

As he matured, he grew more rebellious. He began to question the Tatars' authority. He slacked off when the Tatars gave him work to do. When he was questioned why he was slacking, he replied that he was tired. The Tatars did not tolerate this, of course, and they placed him in a dark cell in solitude. A burly man came into the cell every day and gave the boy a dozen lashings with a cruel-looking whip. This left the boy in a horrible state both mentally and physically- he had a thousand scars on his mind and body.

The burly man came in as usual one day when the boy had been in jail for three years. He pulled out the bloodstained whip and raised it, preparing to give the boy another bout of lashings, when the boy turned around. The man took one look at the expression on the child's face and dropped his whip in fright. It was an expression that would give anyone nightmares, an expression that a child should never have on their face. The eyes- a cold mercilessness that reflected the eternal winter of the kid's homeland. The mouth- a pleasant smile. The boy picked the whip up off the floor. The man found himself pleading, clasping the boy's feet. But the boy paid him no heed, just raised the whip like the man had done so many times before, and whipped the man until he gasped his last.

The kid looked at the blood on the floor. He bent down, stuck a finger in, and licked the blood off of it. He grinned. This was the taste of freedom. No one could stop him now.

Finally, he left his cell, which had practically become his home. And he ran. He ran with no sense of where he was going, just a sense that he _was _going. His path led him to a farm which appeared to be deserted. He sat down on a hay bale to take a rest before continuing his journey.

.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hello, little boy," a voice broke the silence. The child glanced up and saw an older girl staring at him curiously. Her presence somehow gave him a warm feeling that he couldn't identify- a feeling that he'd never felt in his whole life.

"Oh, my," the girl lamented, taking his frostbitten hands in hers. "Come inside. I have some cabbage soup that'll warm you right up."

The boy followed the girl inside. Her home was pretty shabby, with only a single table and two chairs to furnish the only room. "Have a seat," the girl invited, gesturing to a chair. She ladled out some soup from a pot above the fireplace.

As the child drank his soup, the girl fretted, "I know the meal is meager, but it's all I can provide you with right now. When I get out of debt, I'll let you eat something better, okay?"

Then came a question the boy had never been asked before: "What's your name?"

He was unaccustomed to answering that, as he'd never answered it. He had to think awhile to recall his name. Until now, it had been irrelevant. And when he pronounced his name, it felt strange and alien.

"Ivan…Braginski…"

The girl smiled, and a sparkle lit her blue eyes. "Nice to meet you, Ivan. I'm Yekaterina Braginskaya. Ivan, you can stay here as long as you want. I'll take care of you. I may be poor, but I think I'll be able to support an extra person."

"Thank you." Ivan blinked. He'd used another phrase that was unfamiliar to him.

He learned that his newfound caretaker was a country called Ukraine. He spent many months with her and helped her with her farm _willingly._

But like all children, he wanted to leave home one day. He was taller than Ukraine now, and he had to crouch to avoid hitting his head on the low farmhouse ceiling. So he told her, "Ukraine, I'm going to go out into the world and make a beginning for myself. I'll be big and strong one day, and then I'll visit you and give you enough money to pay off your debt!"

"Ivan, you really don't need to do that for me," the courteous Ukraine replied. "But I'll be proud of you do manage to become a big country! Follow your dreams, Ivan, and always remember, you're my little brother and I love you."

In that moment, Ivan couldn't have possibly been happier. His lips moved automatically. "I love you too, big sister." Then he set off.


	3. Chapter 3

On the road, he encountered a pretty girl wearing a blue-and-white dress, white stockings, and black shoes. She had a white bow on top of her pale blonde hair. She stared at him as he went past her, and for some reason, her gaze gave Ivan a feeling of unease.

Further down the path, three friends were chatting casually. The one Ivan recognized was of medium build, with shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes. He'd met him once, long ago, when he was still under the Tatars' rule. Ivan had told him that when he was more powerful, the man would become his friend. But Ivan knew that just one friend wasn't enough. Why not make all three of them his friends?

He approached them in quick strides. The familiar one immediately recognized him and exclaimed, "Hey! It's you! I'm glad you escaped from the Tatars!" The other two glanced up at Ivan and questioned their friend, "Who is he? How do you know him?" He answered, "I met him a long time ago when we were still kids. He was under the Tatars' rule then, but I guess he's free now." The other two expressed their relief that Ivan was free, and the three walked on.

But Ivan blocked their path.

The familiar one asked politely, "Would you mind moving to the side and letting us pass?"

"Yes, I would mind," Ivan replied with a smile.

The color drained from the familiar one's face. Ivan took another step forward until he was right in front of them. At this point, the smallest of the three friends, who looked like a child, started quaking to his shoes. His tiny knees knocked together. The tallest of the three placed a reassuring hand on the little one's shoulder, though he himself was struggling not to show his fear.

"Be my friend," Ivan commanded, smiling pleasantly. "Be my friend and I'll let you pass. Reject my offer and-" -his face darkened- "-I'll kill you."

The familiar one mustered all his courage and said between chattering teeth, "W-we d-don't w-want to b-be f-friends w-with s-someone l-like y-you." He winced, preparing to be hit, but Ivan didn't hit him.

Ivan hit the smallest member of their trio.

Or rather, Ivan picked the poor boy right up and stretched him between his hands like a baker stretching dough.

The boy was hysterical. He wailed and moaned, calling for help to no avail. His friends were petrified with fear. They wanted to help the lad, but they were afraid of the consequences of attacking Ivan.

The tallest one finally spoke up. "Okay, okay! We'll be your friends! Just put poor Latvia down!"

Ivan complied, then addressed his new friends. "Follow me! We're going to build a new house! Oh, wait, I need to know your names first."

"L-Latvia," the child stammered, looking at the ground.

"Estonia," the tallest one mumbled.

"Lithuania," the familiar one muttered.

"And together, we are the Baltic nations," they said simultaneously.

"Oh! So you're nations too!" _Just like Ukraine_, Ivan thought. "Perfect," he chirped cheerfully. "Would you perhaps know of an isolated place where I can build my house?"

Lithuania piped up. "There's a large area of land near our territories. As of now, it's unoccupied. If it were lush and green, people would definitely live there. But everyone who went there froze to death."

Ivan beamed indulgently. "I have endured the cold all my life. It should be an ideal place to have my house! Lead me there, then."

So the Baltics led their new friend, or rather, master, to his desired territory. The whole spot was one big tundra. There were no living things in sight. Even the organisms found in the Arctic were nowhere to be seen. The common question in the Baltics' heads could not have been clearer: "He wants to live here?"

"Okay," Estonia announced. "We've led you to your new turf. We'll be going no-"

Ivan cut him off. He shook a gloved finger, as one would do to a naughty child. "You're not going anywhere just yet. Not before you help me build my house!"

"B-but…" timid Latvia stammered. "W-we don't have big coats like you, so we'll f-freeze to d-death!"

"Oh, that's right!" Ivan exclaimed. "That's why I have extra coats!" He rummaged around in his coat and managed to pull out three coats in small, medium, and large sizes.

Shock filled the Baltics' faces. How could he fit all that in his coat? They were so dumbfounded, they got nailed by the coats when Ivan tossed them to them.

The Baltics started putting the coats on, but froze in place when they witnessed Ivan taking a pickaxe out of his coat. "We're dead," whispered Lithuania. "Goodbye, Eduard and Raivis."

"Farewell, Toris," the other two replied.

The trio braced themselves for the killing stroke, but a minute later they opened their eyes and found themselves still intact. Ivan looked puzzled. "Why are you just standing there?" he asked. "Your coats are only half on. Ufufu. You look so funny!" He smiled good-naturedly. The arm with the pickaxe did not move.

The Baltics hesitantly put their coats on, all the while keeping an eye on Ivan's pickaxe.

When everyone was bundled up snugly, Ivan commanded, "Okay! I'll collect some wood with my pickaxe! You will choose an exact location for my home and plan out the dimensions!"

"But won't you need help carrying the wood back here?" Toris questioned.

"I can do it by myself," Ivan assured them. Something about his tone and the conviction in his eyes told them that he could.

The three friends commenced marking an outline in the snow. Eduard sketched out a blueprint of the structure on a spare piece of paper that he kept in his pocket. As they worked, all of them cursed their rotten fate. Lithuania took out his beloved violin and played a sad tune which reflected the Baltics' mood.

Ivan returned in a matter of ten minutes. He held a whole tree under each arm. The Baltics could only gawk. Poor little Raivis was so stupefied, he fainted on the spot. "Let me see the plan," Ivan demanded. Estonia handed it over. Eduard gulped nervously and waited for the verdict. He was sure that if Ivan didn't like the plan, he would whack him upside the head with a tree.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ivan chuckled and declared, "I like this. The house looks roomy and big, just how I want it."

Estonia let out his breath. He didn't realize he'd been holding it until now. Ivan summoned the other two, and everyone contributed to the building of Ivan's spacious home.

They worked for only a month and the house was complete. This was because they worked harder than they had in their whole lives (and because they had Ivan to do the grunt work).

"Can we go home now?" Lithuania panted. "I can't stand much more time in this freezing temperature. An ordinary person couldn't last a day here; we could only last this long because we're countries, and even that was a feat."

"Wait," Ivan called.

"What now?" Eduard cried, exasperated.

"There's one small hole in the roof," Ivan observed. "I need a little piece of wood to patch it up." Then he spotted Toris's violin.

Toris noticed Ivan's interest in his instrument and guessed what he was about. "No," he begged, falling to his knees in desperation. "You may take my life, but please, PLEASE don't take my instrument!"

Ivan pouted, imitating a sulky child. "But without that wood, the snow will fall in and collect on my floor!" Without waiting for permission, he snatched Lithuania's beautiful, custom-made violin, whacked it against the ground, and picked up the scattered remains. He scaled the wall of his new house and repaired the roof of his house with what used to be a string instrument.

"We'll be going now," Estonia announced.

"Just one last thing," Ivan said. "How do I become a nation?"

"Well," said Latvia hesitantly. "To become a nation, you have to attend the World Conference tomorrow at America's capital and have the majority of the nations there acknowledge you as a country."

"I see." Ivan was overjoyed to learn this. He gleefully watched Eduard and Raivis carry the unconscious Lithuania back to their territory.

_The World Conference_, Ivan thought as he lay in bed that night. _I'm looking forward to it._


	4. Chapter 4

Finally, the day of the World Conference! Ivan was preoccupied. _What if they don't acknowledge me? My clothes are so tattered…_ A thousand doubts jostled each other for space in his brain.

The capital was packed with nations. Nations of all shapes and sizes were congregated in one room. They chatted excitedly among themselves. Ivan saw some familiar faces among them- Lithuania (who was still depressed), Estonia, Latvia, the girl with the white bow on her head, and Ukraine. He locked eyes with his adopted big sister, and she came across the room to talk to him.

"Are you here to become a country?" Yekaterina inquired.

"Yes," Ivan answered. "But I don't think I look presentable enough."

"I've got that covered," Ukraine assured him with a wink. From her pocket, she produced a brand-new beige coat and a long white scarf. "You've long outgrown your old Tatar clothes, so I decided to make you something nice. I was planning on giving it to you for Christmas, but since you're here now, I'm giving it to you right now."

Ivan smiled with delight and embraced Yekaterina warmly. "Thank you, big sister," he murmured as he took his gift.

He quickly ran to the lavatory, changed, and returned. He got back just in time for the meeting.

Ukraine indicated the vacant seat next to her, and Ivan sat in it. The pretty girl with the white bow sat next to him.

At the head of the table was a man with rectangular glasses dressed in a light brown jacket with matching pants and a tuxedo shirt. He had blue eyes and a distinctive dirty-blonde piece of hair sticking up just above his forehead.

The man opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a single word, the blonde-haired gentleman to his left announced, "I will be starting this World Conference. First of all-"

The first man cut him off. "You idiot! If you wanna start the Conference, do it in your own capital!" The two started tussling, the gentleman spilling his cup of tea in the process.

The man to the right of the first man ran his fingers through his wavy, shoulder-length blonde hair. "My, my," he sighed. "I guess I'll have to start the Conference. Okay, do we have any new faces here?"

Ivan raised his hand.

"What is your name?"

"Ivan Braginski."

"Tell us a little about yourself, Monsieur Braginski."

Ivan considered what to say for a moment, then informed everyone, "I want to make lots of friends here, because I was cold and lonely all my life."

"I see, Monsieur Braginski," said the long-haired man. "What a pure and noble cause! Those in favor of Ivan Braginski becoming a country, raise your hands."

Ivan turned his death glare on everyone, so they hurriedly raised their hands. The pretty girl next to him seemed unfazed by his glare, but she raised her hand anyways.

"It seems that there is a unanimous decision," the long-haired man observed. "Congratulations, Monsieur Braginski, you are now a country. May I ask what your country name will be?"

Ivan racked his brain for a good name. Finally, he said, "Ru-ssia…"

"Welcome Russia to the League of Nations!" the long-haired man cried, and the others yelled, "Welcome, Russia! Welcome, Russia!"

Pride blossomed in Ivan's chest.

At the end of the meeting, Ukraine gushed, "Congratulations, Ivan! I'm so happy for you!"

Ivan smiled, but the smile froze on his face when the girl who had sat next to him walked up. Then Ivan's smile turned into a frown.

"Hi," the girl greeted him. "I just wanted to congratulate you on your becoming a nation."

"Okay." Ivan forced a smile. "Thank you."

"And," the girl continued. "I wanted to introduce myself. I'm Natalya Arlinskaya. My country name is Belarus."

"Nice to meet you," Ivan muttered. _Now go away_, he thought.

"And," the girl further continued. "I want to ask you something." She reached out and clasped his hand in hers. "Will…will you…marry me?"

Ivan's head was spinning. Why was this creepy girl asking for marriage all of a sudden? She unnerved him! As if he would marry her!

"No." Ivan barely got the word out.

Natalya was befuddled for a second, then her confusion turned to craze. "We WILL get married, no matter what!" She tightened her grip on Ivan's hand and started dragging him away. Ivan pleaded for help from Ukraine with his eyes. Ukraine gave a nod. She kicked Belarus in the arm with all her might, and Belarus released her hold on Ivan. Ivan fled out of the room, calling a thanks back to Yekaterina.

It didn't take long for Natalya to recover from Ukraine's blow. She snarled like a wild beast and raced after Ivan.

Ivan was the fawn, Belarus the cougar. She chased him across plains, across deserts, across mountains, across the ocean (they could both run on water), and across snow.

Luckily for Russia, Belarus did not know his territory as well as he did, so he cut straight through the region of blizzards and was able to lose her in the snow. From there, he returned home.

He stayed in his abode for three full days to make sure that Natalya had indeed given up her pursuit for the time being. At the end of three days, he finally came out of his refuge. He surveyed the landscape for any sign of his stalker. He found none.

But the madwoman wasn't going to let him have his peace for long. Day after day, she visited his territory and looked for his house.

One day, she found it.

Russia spotted her from his window and almost screamed aloud. As she approached, he quickly banged shut his window shutters and locked the door to his room. He crouched behind a table and waited, shivering in fear.

Natalya tore apart every room looking for Ivan. Finally, she came to the door of Ivan's room.

First came the chant.

"Marrymemarrymemarryme."

Next came the clawing of the door.

Skritch. Skritch. Skritch.

Then came the separation of the doorknob from the door.

RIP!

And lastly the appearance of the face.

"I have torn off the doorknob that separates us. Now we can become one!"

"GO AWAY!" Ivan screamed with all the breath he could muster.

She had him now. He backed up as far as he could against the wall. He glanced up and saw the window above him- a possible escape route! He stood up shakily, and as Belarus lunged at him, he flung himself backwards, sending the window shutters flying open. He landed on his feet (miraculously) on the snow. His heart pounding, he dashed as far away from Natalya as he could.

He sprinted blindly. He heard footsteps pounding after him, but he did not look back.

Soon he was at the bottom of a colossal set of stone stairs. He started the lengthy ascent. Up, up, up he climbed, without regard to anything but keeping his legs moving. He reached the top in a day and a half.

At the top, there sat a man of oriental descent eating a bowl of dumplings.

The man stopped eating when he noticed Russia standing in front of him.

The first word out of the Asian man's mouth was, "Aiyaa…" Then he continued his lament. "A foreigner has invaded my territory and interrupted my mealtime…" It would've gone on if Natalya hadn't caught up at that moment.

The Asian man took one look at Belarus and yelled, "Aiyaa! Here is an even bigger problem than the foreigner! This one stinks like an evil spirit!"

Natalya was still trying to catch her breath and did not anticipate the Oriental man's attack.

"You evil spirit, go haunt those pesky Westerners!" the man screamed as he began to punch and kick her furiously. After he was done venting his anger, he administered a set of super-quick nerve jabs to her neck, forehead, and spinal cord. This knocked her out for good, and she was temporary paralyzed.

Ivan cautiously approached Belarus. He poked her. She did not twitch. He stepped on her. She did not budge.

A big grin spread across Russia's round face. He turned to the Asian man and thanked him wholeheartedly.

"You can thank me by paying me money for crossing into my territory!" the man cried. "Foreigners are so ungrateful these days…"

"Will you…be my friend?" Ivan asked hopefully.

"Are you strong?"

"Yes, very."

"Then okay, I will be your friend."

Ivan spent a lot of time with his Asian friend. He learned that his friend was a communist country named China. His human name was Wang Yao.

Wang Yao was very proud of his country's culture, government, and geography. He informed Ivan that the stairs he'd climbed were called the Great Wall of China. He showed Russia temples, lakes, government buildings, clothing… the list went on and on. In a way, he became a role model to Russia- Ivan wanted to be big and strong like him.


	5. Chapter 5

Ivan celebrated his Christmas at Ukraine's farmhouse. Ukraine was too poor, so she didn't have a Christmas present for him. She apologized for it profusely. Russia assured her that it was okay, that she didn't have to give him anything.

He, however, had made his adopted big sister a gift. He handed it to her. He hoped she'd like it.

Yekaterina accepted the gift and gave Ivan many thanks. The gift was in tha shape of a wooden doll, hand-painted and colorful. There was a cut in the doll's stomach, indicating it could be opened in the middle. Ukraine did so, and a smaller version of the doll popped out. This one had a cut in the middle, too. Ukraine opened it, and an even smaller version of the doll rolled out. Four, five, six, seven… the dolls got smaller and smaller. Finally the last doll tumbled out. It was no bigger than a pea and lacked the slit the others had. Ukraine laughed with delight, a sweet, pleasant sound. She thanked Ivan again for such a wonderful present, then asked, "What do you call this toy?"

"A matryoshka," Ivan replied.

"I love it. I will treasure it always," Yekaterina pledged. Then her eyes widened. "Oh! I almost forgot! I have something to show you! Come with me!"

Russia followed Ukraine outside, past the old well, past the grazing field. They finally stopped at a different kind of field- this one was filled with tall flowers with big black centers surrounded by bright yellow petals.

"They're beautiful," whispered Ivan. "What are they?"

"Sunflowers," Ukraine answered with a smile. "Go on, go into the field. You can pick some if you want."

Russia attempted to step into the midst of the flowers, but an invisible force held him back. No matter how hard he tried to get into the field, the force would not permit it. He turned to Ukraine, confused and worried.

His adopted big sister said, "This should not be happening. The field has never rejected anyone before."

"What's happening?" Ivan asked, clearly anguished

"It is said that this field rejects evil," Ukraine explained. "But you're not evil! This must be a mistake…" She tried going into the field and was able to step in easily. She tried again and again, with the same result every time.

Finally, she came back, defeated. "I don't understand…" she mused.

_That's right_, thought Ivan. _I'm evil._ The confirmation circled his head like a train.

"I'll be leaving now!" he called to Ukraine. "Merry Christmas."

Ukraine was lost in thought; she didn't notice him leave. Only after he was long gone did she echo, "Merry Christmas."


	6. Chapter 6

From then on, things spiraled downward for Russia. He became harsh and reclusive, mostly staying in his bed with the lights off and the window shutters closed. One day, China came to visit him. The two had become very close friends.

"Ivan!" he called. "Russia! Do you want to learn how to make noodles?"

Russia yelled back, "Go away! I don't want to see anyone!"

"Please…please come out, Ivan. This isn't good for you."

There was no response.

"Open up!" China begged, pounding on the door. "Open up…please…" He sank to his knees in the snow. "Don't do this to yourself, Ivan…you're my friend and I don't want my friends doing this kind of stuff."

In that instant, Ivan's dark heart, the cruel child who had whipped his tormentor to death, took control of his lips and responded, "I have no friends."

Wang Yao didn't know how to respond to that. For a moment, he stood dumbfounded, then he dragged himself dejectedly back to his territory. He'd just lost his best friend.

_Alone_, Russia thought darkly. _All I want is to be alone… But do I want something else? _His hands twitched with the urge to kill something again- he missed that feeling of total dominance, total victory. He missed the look in the victim's eyes when he went to land the finishing blow. Such awe, such despair.

The craving became worse as the days went by. _Kill…kill…kill…_ The words drummed a tattoo in his mind. Soon slaughter became a necessity to him. He crawled out of bed on all fours like some demented being. Now, who was his first target?


	7. Chapter 7

Hungary was helping Austria compose a new piece to play at his concert in a week.

Unfortunately, Prussia had come to visit his childhood friend and was making it extremely difficult for both Hungary and Austria to think. As usual, he was spouting his "Oh, I'm so awesome" crap. He was also ridiculing Hungary for hanging out with "this loser", as he called Austria.

Hungary reached her breaking point. "Would you shut up!" she roared. "Roderich and I need some peace and quiet, so go do something out of our way for awhile, okay?"

"Kesesesese. Look at the little lady in her girly maid's outfit! What are you gonna do if I don't leave? Hit me with a broomstick?" Gilbert jeered.

"Don't tempt my wrath," Hungary growled. She was about to show him what this "little lady" could do when the wall behind Austria's grand piano started cracking. The cracks spread and widened until… BOOM! The wall completely shattered into pieces and flew inward.

Hungary coughed and squinted through the dust. "Are you guys okay?" she called.

"Yes," Roderich responded. "How about you, Elizabeta?"

Prussia's answer was, "Of course I'm okay! A little implosion like that is nothing for the awesome me!"

"I'm okay," Hungary said. Then she spotted someone coming toward her through the cloud of dust. A tall figure in a long coat and a scarf. _Russia!_ she realized with a jolt. "Get away from here!" She screamed to the other two. Then Ivan came upon her.

"Kolkolkol…" Russia's laugh sent chills up Elizabeta's spine. He cradled his pickaxe in the crook of his arm. "What do we have here? My first victim?" The laugh again. "Look at the horror in her eyes! Look how she trembles like a cornered puppy! Yes, I have missed that look."

He raised his pickaxe above his head. Hungary prayed to God that she would go to heaven after this horrible incident. And she waited for the end.

SWISH! The pickaxe whistled downwards, descending upon Hungary's head like an eagle swooping down on its prey.

SQUELCH!

Ivan's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't been expecting someone to sacrifice themselves for that girl. Kindness like that just didn't exist in his brain. He considered it foolishness.

Elizabeta opened her eyes slowly, not sure if she wanted to see what was in front of her. A drop of blood landed on her fair face. The blood was not hers.

"Are you… okay?" Prussia wheezed. He had been stabbed in the chest by the pickaxe, and blood was gushing in huge spurts out of his wound.

"Gilbert…" Hungary's voice broke off. Tears welled in her eyes.

"Who would've thought I'd end up dying to save you?" Gilbert managed a laugh, but blood leaked from his mouth. "My last awesome act…" He turned his head to look at Hungary. As he slid off the bloodied pickaxe, he whispered, "Elizabeta… I love you."

Hungary caught her fallen friend in her arms. "Gilbert… I…" She choked up. "I love you too."

"Really?" gasped Prussia with his dying breath. "I'm… glad to hear… that…" his eyes started closing.

Hungary's green eyes widened. "Gilbert, no!" she hollered at the top of her lungs. "Gilbert, don't leave me! I won't forgive you if you die on me!" Her panic changed to despair, and she was reduced to sobbing. "Gilbert… Gilbert… Gilbert…"

A hand reached up and touched her face. "Don't cry… Hungary…" Prussia rasped. "You're not pretty… when you cry…" Then the hand went limp and dropped dead.

"GILBERT!" Elizabeta felt so useless. She hadn't been able to save her childhood friend, despite all her strength. _In the end, I'm the one who had to be saved_, she realized. _And Gilbert died because of that._ She cradled Gilbert's dead body to her chest and everything else seemed to fade away. It was just her and the corpse. And an intangible blackness, a manifestation of her despair.

Ivan witnessed Hungary crying, and it made him feel giddy with happiness. _Such a nice expression_. He decided that he enjoyed that sadness even more than the thrill of the kill. He preyed on it and broke into laughter. "Kolkolkolkol…" Then he approached the heartbroken girl. Austria stepped in front of her. "Don't worry, I won't kill you," Ivan assured them. "I enjoy seeing that despair. So you are safe for now. The next time we meet, though? I cannot guarantee you will get out alive."

"You bastard!" Roderich yelled as Russia turned to go.

"Let him go," Hungary told him softly. "We need to bury Gilbert."

Austria relaxed, but his eyes never strayed from Ivan's back.

And Russia continued down his path of carnage.


	8. Chapter 8

As Ivan wreaked havoc across the globe, Hungary and Austria held a small funeral to commemorate Prussia.

"I didn't get to tell him what I wanted to," Elizabeta sobbed.

"Ah… I know what to do about that, Hungary," Roderich said softly. "Let's give you two another chance to talk to each other. Let's get England to bring his ghost back."

Hungary's eyes lit up. "You mean it? I can really get another chance?"

Austria nodded.

"Let's go, then!" Hungary zoomed out of the cemetery with a new spring in her step. Roderich hurried to keep up.

They arrived at Britain's house presently.

"Arthur!" Elizabeta hollered. "Arthur! Bring Gilbert's ghost back, please!"

The blonde gentleman groaned, "Why did you wake me up just for something as trivial as this?"

Hungary declared, "I assure you, this isn't trivial. Come down here, look me in the eyes, and say that it's trivial."

Iggy grumbled a string of English curse words under his breath and got dressed, then came downstairs and opened the door. The sight of Elizabeta's face was sufficient to rouse him from his half-asleep state. "I see. You really are serious." He led them into a large, high-ceilinged room with an elaborate magic circle etched into the stone floor. The room was lit only by a few candles on the walls that gave the room an eerie green glow.

England pulled a dusty volume from a bookshelf against the wall and blew it off. Then he flipped through the pages until he found the spell he wanted. He started chanting incomprehensible words. The magic circle began to pulsate and glow bright green. "Come forth!" Iggy thundered, and there was a blinding flash.

There stood Prussia a moment later, looking as healthy as ever. He glanced around at his surroundings. Hungary dashed forward to embrace him, but as she contacted him, she stumbled forward, her hands passing straight through his body.

Gilbert shook his head sadly. "You can't do that, Hungary…"

Britain informed them, "Prussia has five minutes at maximum before he has to go back to the spirit world. Get what you want to do done in that time frame."

Elizabeta stared her friend in the face and asked, "Is it true… what you said before you died?"

"Every word of it," Gilbert replied with a grin. "In fact, I've loved you ever since we were kids."

Hungary was puzzled. "But you still thought I was a guy at that time, remember?"

"Eh… kesese… you see…" Gilbert squirmed uncomfortably. "It was like… guy love, okay?"

Elizabeta was speechless for a moment as she processed this awkward idea. Then she inquired, "But how did your feelings for me change when you found out I was a girl?"

"Well… then I knew it was okay for me to love you. But I was always afraid. I thought Roderich had won you over. I wanted you to love me back, but I could see that you liked Roderich. I didn't want to force you to love me. I just wanted you to be happy. So I sat by at you and Roderich's wedding and watched my dream girl being taken away."

"Why didn't you tell me back then? If you had confessed your true feelings, the wedding might not have happened." Hungary's heart hurt from the realization that she had neglected Gilbert her whole life. She had been clueless until the last minute.

"I didn't want to spoil it for you and Austria. I knew he'd take good care of you, and besides, I was just so used to being alone that I didn't even know if I could treat you right, like a lady was supposed to be treated."

Elizabeta took this in and absently stroked the pink flower in her long brown tresses.

Prussia noticed this and asked, "Do you know where that flower came from?" He smiled sweetly (not a very Prussia-like thing to do).

"I've always wondered where it came from," Hungary said with wonder in her eyes.

Gilbert looked around furtively and then instructed, "Lend me your ear."

Hungary approached and Prussia whispered something in her ear.

Elizabeta reeled back, shocked. Her head was swimming. She couldn't believe it! Gilbert had told her that one day, as she lay sleeping under a tree, he had come along and spotted a beautiful pink flower growing next to her. He'd picked it and carefully stuck it in her hair. When she'd woken up, she'd found the delicate flower in her hair, but she hadn't known where it came from because by that time Prussia was already gone.

Surprisingly, the flower had never withered. "It's a symbol of my love for you. That's why it will never wither," Gilbert had confessed.

"30 seconds," Iggy announced. "Hurry!"

The lifelong friends looked over each other, committing each other to their permanent memories before they were separated forever. Then they leaned forward to kiss. Their lips had almost met when Prussia reached his time limit. Instantly, there was empty space where he'd been just a second ago.

"What could have been…" murmured Hungary as she stared at the empty space. "What could have been…"


	9. Chapter 9

After the exit of his unexpected guests, England plopped down on his couch and sipped some steaming homemade tea. Then, without warning, another untimely visitor arrived.

"Hey man! What's up?" the visitor yelled, kicking down Iggy's front door.

"Gah!" Iggy jumped into the air. "You git!" he roared, grabbing the man by his brown bomber jacket. "Can't a chap get a moment of peace and quiet around here?"

"Oh, I just wanted to come over and catch up," said the newcomer. It was the same man who had been at the head of the table at the World Conference.

"America, you could've told me you were coming!" Arthur released his grip on the man's jacket. "Just… sit down. I'll get you some tea and a scone."

"Thanks, man." America sat down.

Arthur returned a few minutes later with a cup of tea and a brownish-orangish OBJECT on a small plate. "Eat up," he invited.

In between sips of tea (he didn't want to touch the OBJECT), America excitedly recounted his adventure-filled life. After he'd downed the tea, though, his face grew serious. "Hey, England…"

"Yes, Alfred?" Iggy hated himself for calling America by his real name, but he couldn't help it. It was a force of habit.

"I've been wondering… what do I mean to you? Am I just another idiot you get angry at, or… do you still think of me as you did back then when I hadn't gained independence from you?"

Britain would have responded if a shadow had not appeared at his doorway.

"Russia?" he addressed the figure at the door. "What do you want?"

"Kill… I want to kill you…" Ivan chanted, a crazed look in his eyes.

"He's snapped," Alfred said, getting up. "This could get ugly. I'll try to make him go away, but I dunno if it'll work." He pulled a machine gun out of his jacket. He aimed it at Ivan. "Okay, dude, we don't want any trouble. Just back away slowly before someone gets hurt."

"That's a cute little toy." Russia smiled endearingly as he pointed at the gun. "Won't you let me play with it?"

"I said to back off," America reiterated. "This is your last warning. You don't go away right now and I'll shoot."

"Do it," Ivan challenged.

Alfred gritted his teeth and said, "That's it." He pulled the trigger on the machine gun, and a seemingly endless stream of bullets emerged from the barrel and zoomed at Russia.

Russia held out a palm. The bullets collided with his hand head-on… and fell to the ground. Tink. Tink-tink.

"What? No way…" America was in disbelief. He tried a grenade next. Ivan merely caught the grenade, inspected it, and shoved it down his throat. It didn't explode.

"Monster…" gasped Iggy. He could only stand there and watch helplessly as Russia drew nearer, ever nearer, to Alfred, with a rusty pipe in hand.

"Die!" Ivan commanded, preparing to whack America in the head with the pipe. Alfred shielded himself the best he could and braced for the impending blow. But suddenly, he couldn't see Ivan in front of him anymore.

England had come to his rescue. He'd managed to drag Russia away from Alfred, and the two were locked in mortal combat.

_In order to protect Alfred, I need to try beating Russia in another dimension,_ thought Britain. _In that case…_ He recited a spell in between pants.

And he and Ivan disappeared in front of America's eyes.

They emerged in a vast expanse of black nothingness.

"Here, we can fight alone," England said. "I can't let you near Alfred, so that's why… I will beat you!" He performed another incantation. This one summoned a massive army of mystical creatures in armor. They were all equipped with swords and shields, glinting bright even in such an impenetrable darkness.

"Strength in numbers, huh?" Russia smirked. "Sounds fun!" He dashed forward.

Iggy himself donned a sword and shield. "Charge!" he shouted, and his mighty battalion surged off.

It seemed impossible for Ivan to win. No matter how strong he was, there was only one of him. He couldn't beat Britain at his own game.

At least, that's the way it seemed.

Ivan charged straight into the midst of the magical army. They all whirled to attack him- fairies dove at his head with miniature weapons, unicorns whinnied and prepared to run him through with their horns, dragons breathed fire at him to burn him to a crisp. But Russia simply closed his eyes and focused very hard on the darkness inside his heart. He channeled this darkness through every pore in his body, and it started to seep out: a purple flicker, which became a flame, and then a full-fledged fire. It propagated rapidly, fueled by evil, like the fury of a thousand demons. The fire engulfed everything in its path and completely obliterated the army. It didn't even leave ashes behind.

In the end, there was only Arthur. The gentleman regarded Ivan with calm eyes. He knew he'd lost. He knew his fate. The last thought that passed through his mind before Ivan lodged a pickaxe in his head was, _I'm sorry, Al. I couldn't protect you. And I couldn't answer your question._ Then he met his demise.

Once Arthur was dead, the dimensional spell was undone. Russia dusted off his coat and casually said "I'm back" as if he'd just returned from a vacation. England's lifeless corpse lay on the ground next to him.

Alfred looked at the carcass of his former caretaker and, without a word, lifted Britain and carried him away. But his whole body was trembling and he barely managed to keep his tears from dripping down his cheeks.


	10. Chapter 10

Ivan swigged from a bottle of vodka, deep in thought. True, he had murdered two nations, but he wanted more. He was not killing them fast enough! He wanted to strike fear into the hearts of every man, woman and child on the planet. But how could he do it if he'd only brought down two nations so far?

He twisted a strand of his silver hair around in a gloved hand. "Ah!" he exclaimed as an idea sparked in his brain. _He needed help._ Ukraine would definitely help him out, even if it was against her morals, because he was dear to her. The Baltics would not have a choice. They would be ruled by fear. Yet those four would not suffice. They lacked strength and efficiency. Russia struggled to think of someone else who would like to aid his cause.

_Her._ He shuddered at the prospect. He weighed the pros and cons of having his stalker on his side. Finally, he decided that he would include _her_ in his alliance. She was a true killer. She could even be better than the other four combined. But he resolved that he would only have her on the team to use her as a pawn. Once his plan succeeded, he would dispose of her. Why? Because he felt like she was a barrier between him and the ultimate power- the power of having no fear. Yes, he was afraid, afraid of _her_, and as long as he remained afraid of something, he was just as weak as the other nations.

He traveled to his beloved sister's farm first. Ukraine opened her door. As soon as Ivan saw her, he knew she'd been worrying about him. Her short silver hair, normally pinned up and held back beneath a headband, was disheveled and messy. She had black circles under her usually-bright blue eyes and looked like she hadn't had a wink of sleep in days. "Ivan…" she couldn't bring herself to say more.

"Would you help me?" Russia asked innocently, violet eyes wide and pleading.

"What do you need?" Ukraine could barely stand on her feet, she was so fatigued.

Ivan leaned in whispered in her ear, "Yekaterina, help me kill."

His sister's eyes widened. A crease appeared on her forehead, and indication that she was thinking. She was naturally a good-natured girl. She hadn't even held a weapon in her life. She couldn't accept this… but Ivan wanted it. Her adorable, sweet brother who she had brought up to adulthood. _Her adorable, sweet brother who had been rejected by the sunflower field._ It still bothered her, molesting her mind 24/7. What had happened on that day…

No, she decided, she would not refuse her little brother. It broke her heart to side with him, and it showed plainly on her face. But she would put up with it; what mattered was helping her brother.

Ivan gathered the Baltics next. As he thought, they quailed like chickens when they saw him. He torched their houses and grabbed the three of them by the arms. "Do as I say," he commanded, mirth written across his features. "Or you'll die." The Baltics could only wail and nod miserably.

Russia journeyed to China last. It felt like ages since he'd visited his former best friend. China glimpsed him coming through the bamboo garden. When the tall nation stood in front of him, he avoided eye contact.

"I would like to see Belarus," Ivan informed Wang Yao. "You still have her in your custody, da?"

China gave a single nod. Without a word, and still avoiding eye contact with the man who used to be his friend, he led Russia inside his home. He pushed a wall with beautiful gods painted on it aside to reveal a small chamber with an ornately carved wooden chair in the middle. Belarus was tied to the chair with strong steel chains, still unconscious. Wang Yao approached and untied the steel chains. Natalya flopped to the floor. With hands as quick as a cobra's bite, the Oriental man jabbed Natalya's forehead, neck, and spinal cord to awaken and un-paralyze her. Russia reached out and received Belarus in his arms.

As the tall Russian turned to go, China raised his head and stared at the back of his head with sorrowful brown eyes. "I wish you fortune and happiness in life, my friend."

To this Ivan replied, "Fortune and happiness will do me no good." And he stepped across Wang Yao's threshold, disappearing into the cover of the bamboo grove.


	11. Chapter 11

Russia called his allies up for a meeting. He took a sip of vodka before speaking. "We are here for one common purpose- to kill nations and inspire fear. After that, the world will be ours, and ours alone."

"I will outline our goals. We must dispose of all the major countries first. As for the rest of them, it does not matter whether they live or die, but I would prefer them dead." He licked his lips in delight. "While this operation lasts, we shall be known as the Soviet Union."

He allowed them a second to process this before continuing. "I have chosen you to be my allies because you are the nations least likely to betray me. I need you because I am not killing fast enough."

Ivan paced around the room, vodka in hand. "I have already done away with Prussia and England, both who were very likely to oppose me and held a sizable amount of power. Hungary and Austria were present at Prussia's death, but I did not kill them because they cannot do me any harm. In other words, they are weak. America was visiting England, yet for all his little toys, he could not stand up to me- ergo, America is not a problem. If we cross paths with them again, however, they may try to avenge the ones I slaughtered. In that case…" He looked them all straight in the eyes. "Kill them without mercy.

"Individual tasks," he announced, sinking in his chair. "Belarus: you will head to Germany. He is a strong country who will definitely take action against our cause once he hears about it. That is why he must be eliminated. Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, your target is Spain. He should be easier to handle than Germany, but once he gets serious about something, he is a reasonably worthy opponent. He also holds a lot of political power. Though I highly doubt that any of you would be decapitated, if you are, under no circumstances are you to betray us and divulge information to the enemy. The punishment for this is-" -here he paused to stare each of them down- "-death.

"I will go to the most invincible country of all- Switzerland. I am going to try breaking through this neutrality barrier of his. If I achieve my goal and the barrier is broken, the entire globe will be terrified because if there is any nation on this Earth that can be used as a last standing place, Switzerland is it. Once you have finished your missions, rendezvous with me at the Swiss barrier."

Russia's wide violet eyes panned the room and he asked, "Any questions?" Finding none, a satisfied grin appeared on his broad face. "Then get to it."


	12. Chapter 12

Belarus was overjoyed. Ivan had finally turned to her! _If I accomplish this mission, he will love me and we'll get married!_ A stream of drool leaked out of the corner of her mouth at the prospect. _Yes, I must succeed. _

She traversed across the snowy mountains of Russia. She reached the German border in six days.

"Hey!" yelled a German soldier at the border. "You cannot pass without permission!" He strode rapidly towards her and grabbed her roughly by the arm to bring her to a border patrol station.

"LET GO OF ME, YOU WORTHLESS FOOL!" Natalya screamed with the fury of a demon. She drew a knife out of the folds of her dress and stabbed clean through the man with a sickening sound. The other patrol guards heard her yell, and they came rushing to see what had happened. One of them split off from the rest of the group to report to Germany.

The sentries surrounded Belarus. They looked at their fallen comrade in a puddle of his own blood on the red earth. Then, as one being, they took out their machine guns.

The bullets sped toward Belarus. A normal person would have been taken out immediately, but Belarus was a nation. Using the ground as a pivot, she swung herself upwards, out of the line of fire. When the soldiers altered their bullets' courses, she landed back on the ground, crouching low like a cat. Before the next change in the bullets' direction, she hurled knives with precision and accuracy to fell a few of the soldiers. She did not tire. She did not falter. She was doing this for love.

Soon her power allowed her to deflect bullets with her knives in mid-air. She could see them coming, her mind predicted the bullets' paths and moved her hands accordingly. Her skill level continued to rise at an abnormal rate. Eventually, she could reflect bullets using her knives at the guards with the same force and speed as they were shot out of the guns. By the time Germany arrived at the scene, it was already too late. All the sentries had been slaughtered.

Rage overtook Ludwig's face. His slicked-back blonde hair seemed to pulsate with anger. A pair of big, light brown eyes peered nervously out from behind Germany's muscular frame. "I've never seen you this angry before, Germany…" whimpered Feliciano. "What's happening? Why are there dead people?" His eyes filled up with tears.

"You just shut up and stay behind me," Ludwig ordered gruffly. "I have to kill this monster in front of us."

"But that's not a monster," Italy observed, confusion on his face. "It's just a girl."

Germany figured it would be useless to try explaining things to Italy, so he simply sighed and said, "Stay back, Italy. I will handle this."

For someone of his size, Ludwig was extremely fast. This was due to all his years of military experience. He struck out with his fists with such force that Natalya was thrown off balance. Taking advantage of her momentary vulnerability, he whipped his leg around and delivered a roundhouse kick to her stomach with such force that she flew back several meters and landed painfully on the ground.

"You're pretty good," Natalya admitted, blood seeping through her delicate lips.

Ludwig's response to this was dashing forward at full speed to strike a crushing blow to her head. Belarus rolled gracefully out of the way of the incoming attack and counterattacked, throwing a dagger at her foe's face. A second before he got impaled, Germany caught the dagger by its blade. Blood oozed from a gash on his palm that the knife had made.

Ludwig tossed the bloodied knife to the ground and wiped his bleeding hand on his black tank top. Then he curled his fists again and charged. Natalya sent a steady stream of daggers flying at him, but he was quick on his feet and managed to dodge through them. However, since he was constantly evading, he could not attack. He gritted his teeth and tried to search for a clear path through the weapons to his target. It was no use. Belarus covered all angles.

"Dammit," Ludwig cursed. He could sense Feliciano standing behind him a little ways off from the battle. That was his only consolation.

Natalya's supply of weapons was dwindling. With her last two knives, she leapt forward at Germany. He put his forearms in front of his face and chest to block the impending blow, but it never came. Belarus veered to the right before contact, changing her course and dodging around Ludwig. She headed straight for Feliciano!

Poor Feliciano scarcely had time to understand what was going on before Natalya seized him and put a knife to his throat. "Ah!" he yelped. "Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I surrender!" The unique brown curl at the side of his head bobbed up and down in fright.

Ludwig whirled, his steely blue eyes widening. He punched himself in the arm. _You idiot. You idiot. You idiot. How could you let this happen? You have decades of military training, and yet… _He could not believe himself. He had failed miserably, despite all his power. He had his best friend fall into enemy hands! He had sworn to protect Italy at all costs since the day they'd become friends. He sank to his knees, his normally proud head low in utter defeat.

Belarus smiled, and she knew she'd won. She held all the cards here. She'd known these two were close, so she had been targeting Italy from the start. In a cold voice, she announced, "Mister Germany. You have lost, and I have taken your friend hostage. If you want him to live, I suggest you comply with my demands."

Germany glanced up into his tormentor's pretty face. "What are your demands?"

"Excellent choice," Natalya laughed. "Very well, I only have one demand. In exchange for this one's escape from death, you must kill yourself."

_Kill myself?_ Shock was written all over Ludwig's face. He had expected a ransom or a piece of land, but killing himself? What was this woman after?

Still, his best friend's life was at stake here. How could he not comply with her wishes? He may have failed to protect Feliciano, but he could still save his life. _My life is less important than his,_ he decided. _I would never forgive myself if I let him die._

"Alright," he said, standing up. "I will do as you ask."

"No!" hollered Feliciano. "No, Germany! Don't do it! Please! What will I do without you?" His sorrow overwhelmed him and he burst into uncontrolled tears.

Natalya tossed her other knife at the ground at Germany's feet. "Use that to do it."

Ludwig picked up the knife. He stared his friend full in the face and said, "Feliciano, don't cry. Be happy, my friend."

For some reason, Feliciano stopped crying for a second to look at his protector. For once, there was no rage or worry in Germany's face whatsoever. He had never looked so calm, so accepting. There was no fear in his eyes as he smiled and whispered, "Take care of yourself, Feli." Everything seemed to move in slow motion in front of Italy's eyes as Ludwig slit his own throat with the dagger. It went frame-by-frame, like a picture slideshow. Finally, as Ludwig's body fell on the ground with a loud thump, Italy's mouth gaped. He didn't notice as Belarus released him. He didn't notice as she chuckled and left. He didn't notice as he tumbled forward and landed beside the body. He could only sob his heart out and cradle the limp, dead body of his friend against his own.


	13. Chapter 13

Spain, in contrast to Italy, was giddy with happiness. His former henchman was coming to visit! Now they could sit and catch up! Spain hoped that Romano would want to sit in his lap like he did back when he was a child.

When he heard a knock on the door, he jumped up like a man who had gotten tazed and skipped joyfully to the door.

The first audible words exchanged were far from pleasant. "You bastard!" Romano greeted Spain. (This was Romano's idea of a greeting).

"Long time no see, Lovino," Spain responded. "You're still as cute as always." He reached out to tug Romano's brown curl playfully. Seeing this, the younger country dodged Spain's hand and delivered his signature move, a head butt, to his former boss's stomach, with a "Chigi!"

"Ow!" Spain cried, hugging his sore torso. "You still hit as hard as you used to."

Romano smirked knowingly and entered the house. Something caught his interest and he immediately ran to it. Moments later, chomping could be heard.

"Glad you still like tomatoes. If there's one thing I taught you, it's to appreciate tomatoes." Spain took a seat on the couch next to Romano and watched him eat in silence for a few minutes. When Lovino had finished eating his snack, he demanded that Spain bring him some wine.

"I'm the boss, but I guess sometimes a boss should do things for his henchman," Spain sighed, sounding resigned. "Just wait here while I go down to the cellar, okay?"

Antonio disappeared down the steps leading to his wine cellar. He searched for his best wine, but ceased when the sound of battle reached his ears. _Oh no! What has Lovino gotten into now?_

He dashed up the stairs blindly without stopping. "ROMANOOO!" he cried when his former henchman came into view. Not thinking, he tackled Romano to the ground just in time to avoid a pitchfork-stab to the head.

Romano did not appreciate Antonio's quick acting. He roughly shoved Antonio off of him and commanded, "Stay out of my way, douche bag. I can handle these bastards."

Spain remained adamant. "I can't abandon you like that. I'm not the cruel boss who would sacrifice his henchmen. Besides, in terms of numbers, they have the advantage."

"Fine," Romano pouted. He rolled up his sleeves. "Let's do this."

Antonio was like a missile, dodging and weaving through Ukraine and the Baltics' attacks. He frequently participated in bull fights as a matador, so he knew the quickest and easiest way to evade an impending blow. He could also land quick but effective hits in between dodging. It was easy for him; there was no trace of sweat upon his sun-tanned skin. He might even have been enjoying himself. The glister in his green eyes reflected his amusement. He was slowly wearing down his adversaries.

His henchman, however, was considerably less precise and agile in his fighting style. He fought like a ruffian, charging in recklessly and delivering fully-loaded, crushing punches. He _did_ manage to knock Latvia out with a punch to the forehead. Now the opposition was down to three.

Lovino then ran straight for Ukraine, the only one with a weapon. Spain yelled, "Stop! Romano! Can't you see she has her pitchfork ready to stab you?"

Romano stopped dead in his tracks halfway to his target. "But we have to aim for her first. She's probably the most dangerous. C'mon, back me up."

"Okay," said Antonio. The boss and his henchman dashed forward together. Out of the corner of his eye, Spain spotted the bowl of tomatoes sitting on the table. He grabbed it as fast as he could and took out a tomato. He handed a second one to Romano. "Throw this at the other two. Try to hit them, but if you don't, it will at least distract them enough for us to decapitate the senorita." Lovino looked doubtful, but he wound up and tossed his tomato at Estonia anyways. Eduard was not prepared for the unlikely projectile and the tomato exploded all over his face with a loud SQUIRT! The same thing happened to Toris when Antonio launched his tomato. And unbelievably, the tomatoes were as effective as grenades. The red explosions knocked both of the Baltics out.

Ukraine was the only one left to beat. She was scared out of her wits, but she stood her ground. As her two enemies charged her, she laid her pitchfork on the ground with the handle under her feet and raised her hands in the air in submission.

Both Spain and Romano screeched to a halt.

"Are you surrendering, senorita?" Antonio asked. The boss and his henchman were both gentlemen. They wanted to avoid wounding a lady if possible.

Ukraine gave a nod. The two men approached cautiously and each took one of her arms. They were going to escort her out.

_I'm sorry, guys, _Yekaterina apologized silently. Her bright blue eyes teared up as she slid her feet out from under her, causing the pitchfork to zoom at Antonio, go in one side of his lean body, and come out of the other. It was a truly hideous sight.

The blood of his boss stained Romano's curl. He released Ukraine and leapt to catch Spain before he hit the ground.

In his dying moments, Spain's familiar goofy smile sprang onto his face, though it clearly pained him to move.

"You bastard," Lovino whispered, sadness written across his face. "How can you still smile like that? You're freaking dying."

Antonio replied with some difficulty, "Ah, I haven't taught you yet? Well… my last lesson to you is…" here he paused to hack up some blood. "Always smile in a bad situation. It will help you in some way. Even if it just gives you a feeling of happiness. Lovino, joy is the greatest gift a person can receive. So… live a joy-filled life. I… hope… you… remember… that…" his voice faded away. His once-scintillating green eyes saw no more. Yet his smile was still present.

But Romano had no intention of being happy. He gently lowered Spain's corpse to the ground. Then he stood and whirled on Yekaterina. "I don't care if you _are _a lady!" he roared furiously. "I'LL KILL YOU!" He withdrew the bloody pitchfork from his former boss's carcass. Yekaterina turned to flee and made it to the doorway before the enraged Italian chucked the pitchfork at her with all the might in his body. The pitchfork did not hit a vital region, but it _did_ put a huge, five-inch gash on Ukraine's side. She cried out in pain but managed to scamper away from her oppressor and lose him while he was picking up the weapon again.

Ukraine felt like an evil person. Killing Spain had put a large void in her heart filled with guilt. She wanted to go back, to apologize to Lovino before he killed her, but there was something she had to do first. She was not going to play her little brother's game any longer! Ivan had to be stopped.


	14. Chapter 14

Russia was gradually getting more agitated. He had been continuously attacking Switzerland's neutrality barrier with his strongest moves, but he could not even put the smallest crack in it. Even the unbeatable purple flames had been rejected. And the invincible Ivan was beginning to wear out.

Until Belarus arrived, back from her successful mission. Ivan allowed himself a small grin of satisfaction. He'd known Natalya would come through. She was the strongest one in the Soviet Union after him, after all.

He informed Natalya, "If you and I crack through this barrier, I promise to marry you." _That will spur her into action,_ he thought cruelly. _And after this barrier is cracked, I will finish her off. Then I will be above the rest of them._

"Really?" Belarus's eyes lit up and her salivary glands activated themselves. Forgetting about the bruises she had gotten from Germany's attacks, she began to lay forceful blows on the barrier nonstop.

Inside the barrier, Vash and Lili were enjoying their umpteenth picnic in the sunshine on the soft green grass.

"I'm glad you found me," Liechtenstein remarked, gazing at her adopted big brother with wide, innocent green eyes. "I hope this can last forever. I just want to stay here with you for eternity and look at the clouds."

"Err…" Switzerland could not find the appropriate words to respond. "I guess I'm glad I found you too." His face reddened. Then a sharp CRACK reached his ears. The next thing he knew, Liechtenstein's nose was bleeding uncontrollably. He instinctively reached for a napkin to staunch the bleeding, but stopped when he noticed a trickle of blood streaming out of Lili's mouth as well. He gasped. He didn't know what was happening. Liechtenstein rarely bled because she was kept in such a secure environment. Now red tears were rolling down her face. She slumped to the grass.

Vash grabbed her and felt her neck for a pulse. He found none, but he scarcely had time to be horrified before he felt an odd sensation take over his head and fell unconscious. The last thought that passed through his mind before darkness claimed him was, _The barrier connected to us… it must have been cracked. Someone has gotten in._

Indeed, Russia and Belarus working together had shattered part of the barrier. The barrier was directly connected to Liechtenstein's and Switzerland's lives. Once it had been broken, Lili had died immediately because she was weaker, but Vash was still alive, though clearly affected.

Russia beamed, then broke into cold laughter that chilled the wind blowing around him. "Kolkolkolkolkolkol…"

Natalya smiled along with her lover. Her grin widened when Ivan approached her in rapid strides. She expected to receive a bear hug and a love confession, but got just the opposite. There was no compassion in Russia's eyes as he loomed over her and raised his pickaxe. A bloodcurdling scream emanated from Belarus's delicate lips, which died when Russia beheaded her. _Why?_ her dead eyes seemed to question Ivan.

"Now that that is taken care of," Ivan said as he dusted off his gloved hands. "I suppose I will go finish off the man inside." He prepared to advance through the hole in the barrier, but ceased when he heard the sound of guns being cocked behind him.

"Not so fast," Alfred announced. "You'll have to get through us first, you fiend." His tone was harsh. There was none of the usual joking demeanor in his posture. His blue eyes were as hard as steel. He was surrounded by Hungary, Austria, Italy, and France. They all wielded guns, Italy albeit hesitantly. But he was set on getting revenge for Germany. His resolve was present in his soft brown eyes.

Ukraine staggered up with Romano in close pursuit. She went straight to Russia. Romano joined the group opposing them.

"Romano, what happened?" asked America, not lifting his eyes from Russia and Ukraine.

"That bitch killed Spain!" Lovino shouted angrily.

America pulled his trigger. Ukraine blocked the bullet for her brother. Ivan was stunned. He helped his big sister up and commanded, "I can handle this. Get behind me, Yekaterina. You're wounded already."

"No, Ivan." Ukraine's voice was stern. "I know this isn't the real you. The real you wouldn't stop trying to get into the sunflower field."

Something clicked in Ivan's brain. As if he was coming out of a trance, he dropped to the ground. A second later, he emerged not as the vicious, bloodthirsty killer but as the sweet boy who had had his innocence cheated out of him in his childhood. Frightened, he dove behind Ukraine in terror. "Please don't hurt me," he wailed.

"Cut the act!" hollered Alfred. As if we would have any mercy on you after all you've done!"

"Please," Yekaterina pleaded. "Give me three days to think of a compromise. At the end of three days, if a compromise can't be reached, you may do what you like with us."

"Don't trust her!" Lovino snapped. "Three days to reach a compromise? More like three days to kill more nations and hide somewhere we can't find them!"

"I agree with Romano," Hungary seconded.

France regarded Ukraine carefully, scrutinizing her face. "She tells the truth," he told Romano and Hungary.

"I don't care!"

Feliciano laid a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I know how you feel, Romano, but I think we should at least let them try to fix things."

Austria did the same with Hungary.

"But…"

"Let them go."

Tears dropped from both of the Italy brothers' and Hungary's eyes simultaneously.

"It's decided, then," America said. "We'll give you three days. No more. Then it's crunch time."

The revenge group departed.

"What are we going to do?" Russia questioned, looking at Yekaterina expectantly.

"We are going to Japan," she answered.


	15. Chapter 15

"Yes? What seems to be the matter?" Japan asked, wide brown eyes peeking out from behind his sliding door.

"Please, Japan, we really need your help," begged Ukraine. "You're possibly our only hope."

"Come in," the Oriental man invited, fully opening the door. As they crouched on fuutons and sipped green tea, Ukraine explained the whole situation, leaving no details out.

Ivan peered timidly over his big sister's shoulder. Fat tears rolled down his cheeks. "I don't want everyone to stay angry or dead. I want to change their future and mine!"

Kiku looked sympathetic. "I will see what I can do," he promised.

"This has never been tried, I must warn you," he continued, advancing towards the back of the room. He whipped off a cloth on an immense form in the corner to reveal an elaborate machine with buttons and knobs on every inch of it, save the very center of one side. In this spot, there was a hand-shaped indentation.

"I started this project a few decades ago," Japan informed his guests. "But I gave up on it because I was scared of the consequences of using so powerful a machine. I completed it, no doubt, it's just that I never tested it." His brown eyes met first Ukraine's eyes, then Ivan's. "You may die, you may get trapped in an alternate dimension inside the device forever. If you want to back out now, please do so."

Yekaterina looked worriedly at Russia. He stared straight back at her, his violet irises firm with resolve. He gave a single nod.

"I hope we don't end up regretting this," Kiku said, powering on the machine. "Then allow me to tell you what this is designed to do."

He flipped a few switches and turned a few knobs to a cacophony of whirring and rumbling. "You are going to put your hand in that indentation when I tell you to. Once the process is complete, you will be transported into your own past within the machine. In other words, you will leave this dimension and travel to another one."

Ivan nodded to show that he understood. Japan continued, "When you are inside your own past, you may change whatever you like, but your main problem will be stopping yourself. I think a fight may be inevitable, so be prepared. After you are done changing whatever you need to change, please go back to the entrance where you came into that dimension from, and through there, you can come back to this world. Everything that you fixed in that dimension will be fixed in this dimension upon your reentrance."

"Got it," confirmed Ivan. "I'm ready."

"Okay then… you can put your hand in now," Japan said.

With no hesitation in him whatsoever, Ivan extended his arm to the engraved handprint. On contact, there was a blinding flash of light. Ukraine and Japan couldn't see anything for a few seconds, then their sight returned to them as the brightness faded away. Where Russia used to be, there was only empty space.

"Good luck, Ivan," Yekaterina murmured.


	16. Chapter 16

The first thing Russia noticed when he came to was doors. The alternate dimension was basically a long hallway, albeit with walls made of light. Every few meters or so, there was a door. The doors were all identical- just ordinary plain brown doors with golden doorknobs. Ivan glanced behind him and reared back in shock when he saw a mammoth black hole looming at his back. This, he deduced, was the entrance portal.

He crawled to his feet slowly and squinted down the hallway. There was no end in sight. He cautiously approached the first door on the right. He twisted the doorknob with a gloved hand and opened the door just a crack. Straight ahead of him was himself hacking at Switzerland's neutrality barrier. _That just happened,_ realized Ivan. _Could it be that these doors are arranged in chronological order from latest to earliest?_ He watched as his now-dead lover dashed up. _Should I save her? _he wondered. _I don't want to spend my life running away… NO! _He slapped himself in the face. _She is another one I killed who didn't deserve it. All she did was be loyal to me and look how I repaid her! She at least deserves to live._ He sped past his other self and snatched Belarus by the arm before she knew what was going on.

"Russia?" she said, puzzled. "But… how can there be two…"

Ivan put a finger to her pretty lips. "I want you to listen to me. That man over there… he is evil. I am the real Russia! Not him. He is just my dark half."

"W-what are you trying to say?" stammered Natalya. "Does this mean I've been helping the wrong Ivan all along?"

"Yes," replied Russia. "He's just using you, Natalya. He plans to kill you after you're done breaking through the barrier."

There was a sharp intake of breath. Belarus was speechless.

"I want you to help me immobilize this Ivan," Russia prompted. "Quick, he's coming!"

"It's YOU!" hissed dark Ivan. "How did you come here? Belarus, kill this impostor."

"_You_ are the impostor," said Russia. "You were never supposed to exist. You are merely a version of me who was cheated out of his innocence."

"Silence him!" roared dark Ivan. When Belarus did not move, he bellowed, "What are you waiting for?"

Natalya got up shakily. "No. I won't do it."

"Then you are useless to me now," growled dark Ivan, maliciousness tainting his big eyes. He slashed at his lover's throat with his pickaxe. Ivan caught the pickaxe an inch from impaling Belarus. It ripped a hole in his black glove. A single drop of blood oozed from a shallow cut in his hand.

"You're still weak," dark Ivan chuckled, a cold smile playing across his features. "You can be cut!" He whipped his leg around and connected it with Russia's stomach, sending him flying into Natalya. Both of them slammed into the ground and had the wind knocked out of them.

"Lend me a hand, Natalya," Ivan said, straightening up and helping Belarus to her feet. _Fighting my dark self is going to be hard,_ he thought. _He is obviously stronger than me. His cruelty gives him power. _Then he realized something. _Is cruelty the only thing that gives nations power? _He thought about Wang Yao. _He gets power from his wealth and reputation. _Then he flashed back to the revenge group. _They get power from their friends. They were so angry because they shared strong, strong bonds with their friends whom I killed._

_What can I get power from?_ Then it hit him. _I can get power from innocence. Even in the darkest place, one glimmer of light can illuminate the whole area. So if I draw my power from purity, I can beat he who draws his power from evil!_

"Belarus, can I ask you to keep him occupied for a bit?" he requested.

"I'll do my best to stall him," she answered. "But I don't think I can last more than three minutes straight against him."

"That's fine," Ivan assured her. "I just need a little time." He plopped down on the grass.

Ignoring the sounds of metal against metal, Russia focused on the image of the sunflower field engraved in his brain. He had never forgotten any details about that field. He could picture the tall, golden flowers swaying in the gentle afternoon breeze, their petals and centers luring him closer and closer…

As Belarus was about to be defeated, Ivan opened his eyes. But no, his irises were not a soft violet anymore. Now they shone with a white, heavenly glow. Flames flared up around him- not evil and purple like they used to be, rather, a scalding, brilliant white that hurt any eye that fell upon them.

"Gah! What is this… this brightness?" dark Russia wondered, shrinking away from the holy flames. He attempted to activate his own purple flames, yet once they appeared, they were immediately sucked away by the white flames.

Ivan advanced upon his evil self, sweeping past Belarus. She watched in shock as he stretched a hand out to dark Russia and touched him gently on the forehead. The latter collapsed on the grass, apparently unconscious. Then the real Russia's bright flames disappeared as quickly as they had come. He was dizzy and disoriented. He fell into Natalya's arms.

Before blackness claimed his vision, he was aware that he'd just saved Belarus, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. But there was a long way to go yet.


	17. Chapter 17

Natalya thanked Russia tearfully and wished him good luck in his ventures. She could not leave the scene, so she sent him off with a warm hug, which he actually kind of enjoyed. _She isn't so bad after all,_ he realized.

He stepped through the doorway and crossed the hall to the door opposite. He tried the knob, but the door was tightly locked. This confused him for a while, then he walked on. He passed through the next door on the right. Here he found himself commanding the newly-formed Soviet Union to attack. He did not want to confront himself again, so he ran as swiftly as his legs could carry him to the other side of the room and flung open the door in that scene. He hollered at the top of his lungs, "You can all go free! Just run to Switzerland, where he can't get you! Go, go, go!"

The Baltics and Ukraine immediately panicked and ran out the door like a herd of cows stampeding.

Belarus's head turned from one Ivan to another until her eyes spun about in their sockets. She could not take two Ivans at once and was overwhelmed by the beauty of her lover. She hit the tiled floor, knocking herself out cold.

Evil Ivan's face contorted in rage and he charged at Ivan. But the former had more distance to cover to get to the real Russia than the real Russia had to get to the door in the hall. Ivan made it through just as dark Russia stabbed his coat. The pickaxe stopped right at the doorway. Ivan flung the door shut behind him to the enraged bellows of dark Ivan.

Two more were given another chance: Germany and Spain. With Ukraine and the Baltics gone and Belarus decapitated, the only place evil Russia could head to was Switzerland to break the barrier. Ivan had succeeded in upsetting his dark half's plans.


	18. Chapter 18

Feeling rather satisfied, Ivan proceeded down the hall. Now it was time to give England a future. When dark Ivan arrived at Britain's house to claim his next victim and America drew his machine gun, Russia already knew that regular weapons weren't going to work on his dark half. But how about bullets imbued with the power of light, the power of the white flames? Wouldn't that work?

Before America could even shoot a single bullet, Ivan popped out into the scene and grabbed Alfred's gun from him.

"Hey! What're you doin'?" Alfred protested. "What the hell's goin' on?"

"Just watch," Ivan said through clenched teeth. The last thing he needed was Alfred taking down the wrong Russia. His body blazed up with the scorching white flames once more. But this time, he channeled all the flames into the gun. The bullets inside were heated up until they couldn't withstand the pressure anymore. They spilled out of the barrel without Ivan having to pull the trigger. Even though Russia's aim was off, the bullets could seek out impurity. Like missiles, they curved around and sank into dark Russia. But they didn't hurt him on the outside. Instead, they targeted his ugly black heart. Light and darkness clashed at his heart, pushing for dominance. Finally, light won the power struggle. It took over the dark half's heart and made him scream out in pain. He toppled over, clutching his chest as if he'd actually been shot in the heart.

"Whoa, man, that was wicked," gasped America, his jaw hanging open.

"No doubt," agreed Britain. "Thank y…" But Ivan was already gone by the time Alfred and Arthur had turned around.


	19. Chapter 19

**Alright, here's some clarification on the whole "changing his past" thing. It might be confusing for some people, so here's the info on it:**

**When he goes and changes all those things and then comes back to the present, it doesn't mean all those killings and stuff never happened. Calling it "changing the past" would be kinda inaccurate. It's just that whatever he changes in the alternate dimension will be reflected in the real world. For example, Prussia was dead. Russia saved him in the alternate dimension, so in the real world he COMES BACK TO LIFE.**

** That's how it works. Sorry for any misunderstanding. I hope this improves your reading experience in the final few chapters. **

**And I know these last few chapters were kinda drab =( Sorry about that. I couldn't really be detailed and stuff when the plot was like this. It'll get better though, I promise. It's gonna go out with a bang! **

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><p>Ivan had once separated two lovers. Their names were Elizabeta and Gilbert. He felt the worst about killing Prussia with his dark self. True, the other deaths were extremely tragic, but the one that gave Ivan the most sadness was Prussia's. He'd witnessed the despair in Hungary's eyes when her lover had died. He'd heard her screams and cries of agony and anguish, and it had rended his own heart in two. Of course, his dark self had enjoyed hearing and seeing her so sad, and that made the real Russia angry. He was absolutely going to fix this scene!<p>

He rushed headfirst into that piece of his past, determined to give the heartbroken Hungary her lover back. He arrived in time to see dark Russia demolish the walls of Austria's house. Overcome by remorse, Ivan charged like a bull at his alter ego. He tackled the tall psychopath to the floor. As the two Russias tussled viciously, Prussia and Austria moved as one unit and carried Hungary away. When they were out of range, Ivan discharged a burst of white flame at point-blank range into dark Russia. The effect was the same as the previous time.

_Everyone survived, _Russia thought as his enemy writhed in pain. _I'm so glad._ His childish smile sprang onto his face. Now it was time to fix himself.


	20. Chapter 20

As he strode to the very end of the hall, as he strode to the source of his darkness, Ivan wondered what he would tell his younger self. Could he make him understand? Make him give up his hatred?

He stood in front of the door, hesitating. Then he steeled himself. _No. I have to do this, or I will never be truly at peace and the same things may happen again._ With new resolve in his purple eyes, he grabbed the doorknob and threw the door open with one fluid motion.

Winter, Tatars' territory. It brought back unpleasant memories. The jailhouse was just as Russia remembered it. It still reeked of blood and resonated with the cries of those who had refused to do the Tatars' bidding. He heard the sharp sounds of a whip cracking. With an invisible force guiding his steps, Ivan arrived at his cell.

His child self was huddled in a damp corner after receiving a particularly harsh beating. "I hate them…" he muttered over and over. "I hate them all! I want to kill them!" He was so immersed in his dark thoughts that he didn't even notice Ivan come up and lay a hand on his shoulder.

Startled, he jumped up in fright. His eyes were wild and suspicious, like a crazed animal. "Who are you?" his voice was hoarse and hostile. He did not know how he looked like; he'd never even seen his reflection. His silver hair was dyed red with his own blood.

"I am you and you are me," Russia replied simply. "We are one and the same."

"Are you trying to make fun of me?" young Ivan's voice rose. "Then are you going to beat me again? Huh?"

"Calm down," Russia told him. He stooped down to his child self's level, which was a long way down for him. He stared him straight in the eyes. "Look at your own reflection in my eyes. Then you'll see I am telling the truth."

For some reason, child Ivan obliged and found the truth in his older self's eyes as promised. "H-how did you get here?" he asked, falling back on his haunches.

"It doesn't matter," Ivan assured him crisply. "I've come to change you- I mean myself- for the better."

"Change me? How?"

In response, Russia unbuttoned his coat and slipped it off, revealing the lacerations he had gotten as a child. "You must have scars like this on you, too," he said sadly.

The child took off his own coat, exposing identical scars. "Yes."

"There can only be room for one of these in your heart: love or hate. It's up to you to decide which path you will take," Ivan continued. "I learned the hard way.

"If you fill yourself with hate, you will always be alone. Everyone will hate you back. Your heart will turn black with corruption." He traced a scar on his chest. "And these will never stop hurting.

"However, if you let love lead you, you'll never be alone. You'll always have your friends by your side, and they will bring you happiness whenever you need it. And this way, the wounds you received before will be permanently healed. They will fade away until there is nothing left to remind you of your horrible past.

"I can't make the decision for you. It's not going to be easy to forgive your tormentors, I'm sure, but if you can find a way…"

He embraced his younger self. "You'll always find yourself in a warm place."

Russia left before he could witness his success in altering his own personality. Young Ivan suffered terribly, but he endured the pain with his older self's advice in mind. He did not murder his guard like he had done in the real world. He simply waited out the days in that living hell until the Tatars were driven out of the region. Then he was liberated and went to live with a farm girl.


	21. Chapter 21

**The final few chapters. Are you glad that it's almost done? Everyone loves a happy ending. Just read on and see what happens with our revived buddies! PruHun coming up ;)**

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><p>Ivan's legs automatically knew where to go after he had changed himself. Though he was a bit fatigued, his feet carried him back to the front of the hallway, to the once-locked door.<p>

But now it wasn't locked. The door opened easily when Russia pushed turned the knob.

The sight before his eyes when he entered the scene nearly made him trip. It was the sunflower field! Now he understood why this door had been locked in the beginning! He couldn't enter this scene before he'd purified his child self first!

He watched as his alternate self approached the field. His eyes widened and he gasped out in surprise when he saw himself take his first step into the field. His heart was light with joy, he was so happy that he could faint. Mirthful tears seeped from his eyes and traced twin sparkling tracks down his round face.

He stood there for a minute in disbelief, then he turned and strode slowly out of the scene. His job was done. He returned to the black hole, the bridge between the dimensions, and leaped in without hesitation.


	22. Chapter 22

**This is the final chapter! Yay! I tried to make the ending as beautiful as I could. I hope you'll agree.**

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><p>His adopted big sister received him with open arms when he came back to the real world.<p>

Japan was anxious to hear how it had gone. "Did you fix everything?"

"Yes!" Ivan said a bit too loudly. He couldn't help himself, he just couldn't wipe the huge smile off his face.

"Let's go check if it worked," Kiku prompted. He was still doubtful of the potency of his invention.

Ukraine led her little brother by the hand like a child. He did not mind one bit. He was barely aware of his surroundings, so elated was he.

They traveled to Prussia's grave in Austria first. Gilbert crawled out of the soil and spit dirt onto the grass. He coughed and retched so noisily that Elizabeta exited the house to see what was going on. She stopped dead in her tracks and the blood drained out of her face when she saw the dirt-covered nation in Austria's backyard. She slapped herself in the face and closed her eyes to make sure she wasn't dreaming. When she opened them again, Gilbert was in front of her, grinning like an idiot.

She whacked him in the gut with the broomstick she was carrying. "Don't you ever do that again!" she sobbed. Not minding his filthiness, she threw her arms around him exuberantly and her lips found his, completing the kiss that had almost happened.

Austria had heard all the ruckus and had also come to investigate. He swiveled and walked in the opposite direction when he saw the reunited lovers sharing that passionate moment. He understood that they wanted to have some time alone. And in his subconscious, Roderich also knew that Hungary was going to move out of his house soon. _But it's for the better, _he decided, glancing behind his shoulder. _Prussia is much more deserving of Hungary than I would ever be._ Smiling, he reentered the house.

The next stop was America's. The hero was crouched by England's grave, beating the ground so hard his knuckles streamed blood. "He better come up with something soon…" he growled. "Or it's payback time!" Then he heard something behind him. A hand wormed its way out of the earth and grabbed his jacket.

"IT'S A ZOMBIE!" yelled Alfred, his curl standing on end. He rolled out of the "zombie's" grip and pointed a gun at the arm that was rising from the grave.

A familiar voice reached his ears, one that he had not expected to ever hear again. "No, you wanker, it's just me."

"A-Arthur?" stammered America, his gun clanking to the ground. "But how…?"

"Even I don't know how I came back to life," Britain replied. "But it must've been someone with considerable magic power. Anyway…"

"I just want to say I'm sorry." The shame was evident in Alfred's eyes. "I couldn't do anything to protect you. I was completely useless!"

"I was the one who failed," England corrected him. "If Russia hadn't decided to spare you, you'd be dead by now too. I couldn't take him down. _I'm_ sorry, Al.

"And about that question of yours that I was going to answer before Russia came…" Arthur's piercing green eyes met Alfred's pure blue ones. "You're not just a git I get upset at. I might act like that's the case, but really, it's not. Those years I spent with you as a child… they were… fun."

"Whoa, dude! Your face is as red as the habaneros I had for dinner last night!"

"Shut up! I'm trying to have a moment!"

Ivan chuckled, and he, Yekaterina, and Kiku walked on.

They came presently to Italy's house. Italy hadn't even had the motivation to bury his friend's corpse. In fact, the grief-stricken Feliciano lugged the corpse around with him everywhere he went. He treated the carcass as if it were still alive. He even made an extra plate of pasta for it when he cooked. It was clear that Italy was going insane.

He was taking Ludwig sightseeing when Russia's little group arrived.

"And this is the leaning tower of Pisa…" he choked up. He looked back at the corpse and spoke to it. "Do you like it, Germany?"

"Yes, I do." Germany's metallic blue eyes were starting to open. His mouth had moved automatically when he'd detected Italy's words.

"Germany!" Feliciano's eyes were free of tears now. He squeezed the air out of his now-revived friend.

Ludwig gasped for air. "You're choking me," he wheezed. Italy loosened his embrace a little bit, but still clung to Germany tightly.

"The only time you're strong is when you hug," Germany groaned.

"Let's go!" Feliciano snatched his friend's hand and skipped with him back to the house, where two warm plates of pasta were waiting.

Romano's reaction to Spain being alive again was a mix of outrage and relief. He first head butted poor Antonio with his signature "CHIGI!", then he started to punch Spain in the stomach. "You-bastard-don't-scare-me-like-that!" One word for each blow.

"Romano!" Despite the fact that he was getting beaten up, the boss reached out with both hands and tugged on his former henchman's cheeks. This set Lovino off even more, and he knocked Spain right out. Then he plopped down on the grass. Looking at Spain, he sighed, "But I'm glad he's okay."

The final destination was Switzerland. The neutrality barrier was back up and as strong as ever. But Ukraine, Russia and Japan could just glimpse a pretty young nation enjoying a picnic with her adopted older brother on the other side of it.

The three countries returned to their respective territories with many "thank you"s and "be safe"s.

Russia made a stop at China's house. He reconciled with his former friend, and before long, due to Wang Yao seeing the goodness instilled in Ivan, they were best friends again.

Ivan stepped into his territory, but what he saw surprised him. His home was no longer a freezing, desolate piece of land. Instead, the sun shone through a canopy of oak trees. Birds chirped merrily from branches. Soft green grass sprouted from the earth. The whole place teemed with life and cheerfulness. It seemed that the territory had changed with its owner.

That Christmas, Ivan spent time with Ukraine as usual. There was one last thing he had to check. The two came around to the sunflower field. The feeling was exhilarating as Russia took his first steps into the midst of the beautiful flowers. The flowers themselves seemed to acknowledge him with their black faces; they all turned toward him to welcome him. He obtained a few seeds, said his farewell to Ukraine, and headed home.

Before long, he had his own sunflower field in his new backyard. He liked to spend a few hours each day laying in the field gazing up at the blue sky. He didn't even mind if Belarus joined him.

And every time, his sweet smile would break out on his face. His violet eyes would close in pure bliss. His heart had been lit.


End file.
